The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus that can perform special light observation using specific narrowband light in addition to normal light observation using broadband light, such as white illumination light.
In recent years, an endoscope apparatus that can perform so-called special light observation that irradiates specific narrow wavelength band light (narrowband light) onto a mucosal tissue of a living body and acquires tissue information at a desired depth of the body tissue has been utilized. This type of endoscope apparatus can simply visualize living body information that is not acquired in normal observation images, such as enhancement of the surface layer fine structure of a new blood vessel generated in a mucosal layer or a submucosal layer, and a lesional part. For example, when an observation target is a cancerous lesional part, the state of fine blood vessels or fine structure of a tissue surface layer can be observed in more detail if blue (B) narrowband light is irradiated on a mucosal tissue. Therefore, the lesional part can be more accurately diagnosed.
In the special light observation, in image processing, a G image signal is allocated to B image data, a B image signal is allocated to G image data and B image data, and a pseudo-color image including 3ch color image data is generated, and is displayed on a monitor or the like.
As a result, it is known that, since the pseudo-color image displayed on the monitor or the like includes a number of B image signals (B narrowband data) mainly including information on a surface layer tissue, the state of the fine blood vessels and fine structure of the surface layer tissue is expressed in more detail, and the fine blood vessels and fine structure of the surface layer tissue may be easily observed (JP 3559755 B and JP 3607857 B).